Hunt End, England was a village of several small mills manufacturing needles and fish-hooks.

It was here in 1851 that George Townsend put up his needle-making mill, which he named Givry Works. But it wasnt until his passing away that his son, George Jr. and his half-brother brought into Givry Works one of the first 'boneshakers' a crude cycle. It had a backbone of iron, with wooden wheels, iron tyres and pedals of triangular pieces of wood! Though the bike was a source of some amusement, George and his team felt they could easily improve on it. The earliest modern safety bicycle with two wheels of equal size had appeared in about 1880. All manufacturers were trying their hand at this new venture. So was George Townsend Jr. By luck, he chanced upon an invention in his neighborhood a saddle that only used one length of wire in the two springs and in the framework. This was adopted, patented and marketed as the 'Townsend Cyclists Saddle & Spring'. He had entered the bicycle parts trade! From bicycle parts, Townsend slowly moved on to producing bicycles himself. He was also supplying a wide range of parts to other manufacturers - Givry Works was growing rapidly. Over the next three years he developed his own range of over two-dozen machines. Each machine, known locally as the 'Townsend cycle' was reputed for its sturdy frame, a character that all Enfield bikes would follow.

Top of Form

1851 1890
EVOLUTION OF ROYAL ENFIELD

1891 1900
THE COMING INTO BEING

1900 - 1910
MOTORCYCLES

1911 - 1920
THE ROYAL ENFIELD BIKES

1921 - 1930
THE INTERWAR YEARS

1931 - 1940
ESTABLISHING BULLET

1941 - 1950
POST WAR BULLETS

1951 - 1960
A TALE OF TWO CITIES

1961 - 1970
A TALE OF TWO CITIES. NO... THREE!

1971 - 1980
ALL THAT ENFIELD'S ISN'T A BULLET

1981 - 1990
TOUGH TIMES AHEAD

1991 - 2000
ENFIELD BECOMES ROYAL ENFIELD

2001 - 2010
ROYAL ENFIELD

THE COMING INTO BEING (1891 1900)

1891 A Little Trouble

Townsend got himself into a bit of financial trouble in about 1890 and called in some financiers from Birmingham. Unfortunately, they didnt quite see eye to eye. So Townsend parted ways with the financiers leaving the company to them. The financiers then brought in Albert Eadie and R.W. Smith. They took control of Townsends in November 1891. The following year the firm was re-christened The Eadie Manufacturing Company Limited. Soon after, Albert Eadie got a lucrative contract to supply precision rifle parts to the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield, Middlesex. To celebrate the contract, Eadie and Smith decided to call the first new design of bicycle, the Enfield

1892 Kick Starting Royal Enfield

A new company was created to market these new design bicycles called The Enfield Manufacturing Company Limited. By October 1892, the Enfield bikes were announced to the public. The following year the word Royal (after the Royal Small Arms Company) was added and thus Royal Enfield began. Then in 1893 the Royal Enfield trademark Made Like a Gun appeared. Britain was caught up in a patriotic fervor and the slogan caught the spirit of the time. In 1899 the first mechanical vehicle was advertised by Enfield Cycle Company. It was available in both tricycle and quadricycle form, powered by a De Dion 1.5 hp engine. The high wheels, solid tyres, block chains and heavy cross frames had by then given way to Diamond frames, the Hyde Freewheel, Enfield 2 speed hub and the well known Eadie Coaster. Then came the Riche Model with more refined fittings. By 1907, the cycle industry was still headquartered at Redditch, producing run-of-the-mill conventional cycles of the Roadster, Sports and Racing range. 1897 Quadricycles

In 1897, R. W. Smith built himself a quadricycle a simple bike with four wheels and a French engine placed under the saddle between the rear wheels. During the next two years several developments were made. About then, an Enfield quadricycle completed the 1,000-miles road trial of 1900 organised by the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland. The Enfield vehicle was awarded the silver medal, although it had its share of troubles and breakdowns.

Privacy Policy Terms and Conditions Sitemap Royal Enfield. All rights reserved.
1
Bottom of Form

A TALE OF TWO CITIES (1951 - 1960)

1951 In the UK

Never before in British automobile history had so much been done in a single decade, not just by Royal Enfield, but the every other marque of the time. All new engines, all new configurations, new paint schemes, new capacity classes the motorcyclist had never had such a wide choice ever before. The 1950s saw the market open up both ways, downwards for smaller capacity, light and maneuverable machines, and upwards for larger capacity, high powered and reliable motorcycles. The Royal Enfield showrooms in the UK saw everything from 125cc two strokes to the mighty 700cc Meteor. 1955 Meanwhile in Madras

The Indian Army, the sole reason why the Bullet was brought to India in the first place, insisted that they would continue doing business with Madras Motors only if the Bullet was produced indigenously.The Enfield India Bullet of the late fifties was quite a different motorcycle from the one we are used to today. Using the famed Lucas Magdyno ignition system, the 1955 Bullet was almost a clone of the 52 Redditch Bullet. The frame, electricals tinware and rolling chassis, however, were to undergo many changes over the next ten years, with the Bullet slowly evolving into the familiar form we know and love today.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/32459289/TWO-WHEELER-P-P-T http://www.automobileindia.com/two-wheelers/motorcycles.html -http://www.automobileindia.com/two-wheelers/bikes/ The Top 5 Emerging countries contributed $34.1 billion to the global Motorcycles industry in 2008, with a CAGR of 15.1% between 2004 and 2008

In 2013, the market is forecast to have a value of $59 billion, with a CAGR of 11.6% over the 20082013 period. China is expected to lead the Top 5 emerging nations, with a value of $27.1 billion in 2013 http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb? index=56&did=1231563741&SrchMode=1&sid=5&Fmt=6&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD& RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1283232180&clientId=66785 http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb? index=1&did=1507993591&SrchMode=1&sid=8&Fmt=6&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&R QT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1283232573&clientId=66785